I’m Behind This Book

It’s kind of fun to check Amazon Best Seller Rankings for my new book. We are #1 in a few categories, but definitely not OVERALL Kindle rankings, which are full of some Rather Silly Sounding romance books. For example, my book is many slots behind, “The Benefits of Bad Decisions,” which has the following description:

After a bad decision lands me a role on a reality show, I expect it to be my big break as a TV star. Despite getting kicked off the first night, I land on my feet again when a talent agent who saw the show offers me an audition as back-up dancer for a popular rock band.

Knowing this could be my stepping stone is exciting, but the real thrill is watching Brody bang on his drums every night. It’s a bad idea for a dancer to hook up with a band member, but after he kisses me, I can’t stay away.

Facing the consequences was inevitable, and it only takes one scandalous mistake from my past to cause our complete destruction.

Bad decision or not, I always manage to come out on top… until I don’t.

Woman that Can Smell Parkinson’s

Not 100% of my time on reddit is wasted. It’s more like 99%, with this very interesting article as the 1% exception.

Daily Photo – White Sand Beaches in Florida

I didn’t know Florida had white sand beaches! I don’t know why it’s that surprising, I suppose… I just had never heard of it. I can’t imagine how many millions of years it takes for the ocean to beat down quartz rocks into this fine, powdery sand. Can anyone guess exactly what beach this is?

White Sand Beaches in Florida

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-01-21 09:18:06
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture9
• ISO400
• Focal Length43.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Nerd Time

I woke up thinking about oxygen and how our cells covert the O2 molecule into CO2. I don’t know why I was thinking so hard about it, but I had to go jump on the internet to do some research. Anyway, I found out the following interesting tidbits, which is generally what I expected (although a fair more nitrogen than expected), but it was good to see it was researched by an actual scientist:

• What we breathe in is far from pure oxygen, but roughly by volume 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.96 percent argon and 0.04 percent carbon dioxide
• The permanent gases in air we exhale are roughly 78 percent nitrogen, 15 to 18 percent oxygen (we retain only a small amount), 4 to 5 percent carbon dioxide and 0.96 percent argon

This sent me on a deep dive of argon, but I won’t bore you with that.

Daily Photo – The Temple

This is a photo I recently edited from Burning Man. I think this was the temple 3 years ago, if I recall? I don’t know… it’s all a blur. Anyway, recently the Directed Group Sales go into effect… so I’m securing a few tickets. That’s always a good feeling because tickets can be so hard to get! If you want to see my full Burning Man portfolio on SmugMug, head over here.

The Temple

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-09-02 12:31:44
• CameraX-Pro2
• Camera MakeFuji
• Exposure Time8.5
• Aperture5.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length27.4 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

Tales from the Tour Bus

My latest recommendation is to watch this super funny show. Mike Judge had the brilliant idea to capture stories from musicians and then animate them in clever ways. Here’s the promo for it.

Daily Photo – The Temple at Burning Man

Here’s a photo I recently processed of The Temple at Burning Man. I think this was in 2016? I don’t remember. Too many drugs. Anyway, I did happen to capture this photo. I have strong opinions on the design of each temple, which varies from year to year (it’s always burned on the last day). For me, this one was definitely in the top three. I try not to look on the Internet about upcoming designs, but I heard the one for this year is another Asian-inspired theme.

The Temple at Burning Man

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-09-02 12:31:42
• CameraX-Pro2
• Camera MakeFuji
• Exposure Time2.1
• Aperture5.6
• ISO200
• Focal Length27.4 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Personal Trainer

I recently got a personal trainer at Industrial Fitness and it’s been great! I never thought I would enjoy having one so much… His name is Gary and he’s a badass. Anyway, I’ve always been very disciplined and never thought I needed outside moderation, but I was wrong. Not only does he push me farther, but I like that it’s one hour a day where I don’t have to make decisions. When you run your own business, you spend all day making decisions, and it can get a little tiring, honestly… even more tiring than a good workout!

Daily Photo – Pre-Launch Countdown

I was lucky enough to be part of a special group for some of the final launches of the space shuttle to get up-close access. I was able to spend a few hours here. Very nearby, I planted a camera to automatically take photos at launch. It was one of my greatest ideas that ended with a total mess, like many of my greatest ideas. For one, the camera flooded. For two, nothing was in focus. For three, all I saw was a bright orange flash before most of the camera melted. But, other than that, it was a smashing success.

Pre-Launch Countdown

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-05-15 11:03:57
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture6.7
• ISO100
• Focal Length145.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Fun Critique Show #4!

These are pretty fun shows, eh? Or do you hate them? It’s okay, be honest, I can take criticism really well! 🙂 Once again, we rapid-fire critique 10 different photos… this time, it’s all portraits!

Daily Photo – A Quiet Night in Portofino

I can’t tell a lie… this isn’t Portofino. It’s actually Universal Studios, so I feel a little weird about taking photos of “fake” places like this. But, as fake as it is, it’s still pretty beautiful! I don’t actually know if you can get in those boats or not. Probably not. But I’d like to see them stop me.

A Quiet Night in Portofino

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2010-01-19 07:28:06
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture4
• ISO100
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+1

USA Aerial Highlights

Here’s a cool video I haven’t shared in a while! During our USA tour, we got a ton of quad footage, so I decided to cram it all into this cool drone-only highlight video!

Daily Photo – Hi Philly!

During our USA Photo Walk, we had a cool situation when we got to Philadelphia because one of the photo walkers brought a cool lightstick. If you don’t know what that is, it’s actually pretty tough to explain! Basically, it’s a long stick that has LEDs that change. If you do a long exposure as the stick passes in front of the camera, you get some pretty cool results!

Hi Philly!

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2015-09-07 13:10:28
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time15
• Aperture10
• ISO125
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Rocket Man Passport Sunday!

Today, I’ll post two photos from the same shuttle launch that I recently worked on. This launch was particularly cool because of the low cloud cover. Anyway, if you’re a Passport Member, you’ll get to see both edits today!

Editing the Rocket, man

Today, a two-for-one! You’ll get to see me edit two of these space shuttle photos. I also show a pretty cool trick to add more trees so that I can fix the horizon. Well, the horizon was not actually off, but the trees made it look like it.

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Daily Photo – Postplume

One of my favorite things about this photo is how you can see the shadow of the vertical plume as it kept going up, up, up. I tell ya, these rocket launches are really emotional and exciting. It’s a strange combination of fright and awe.

Postplume

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-07-08 10:30:43
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time1/180
• Aperture13
• ISO100
• Focal Length28.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Great Documentary

Try out that Garry Shandling documentary. It’s very interesting! I always liked him… but never knew much about his story until I saw this thing… It’s called “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling,” so check it out!

Editing the Disney Castle

Happy Sunday! Here’s a very simple and quick edit, showing how I used Aurora HDR to finish off this Disney Castle photo.

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Daily Photo – The Disney Castle

Are there any bad photos of this thing? I mean, come on. But the challenge for me is to try to find new angles and new contexts. I like this one because it’s both a little haunted-looking and I like these repeating lamps that add more depth to the shot.

The Disney Castle

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2011-07-09 21:53:15
• CameraNIKON D3X
• Camera MakeNikon
• Exposure Time3
• Aperture11
• ISO200
• Focal Length19.0 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

The Trey and Harriet Critique Show!

Episode 1 seems like it was a hit with people, so here’s show #2. We’re learning more as we go… Episode 3 is even more punchy as we drop the critiques to 1 minute each (or well, we try).

Daily Photo – Half Moon Bay at Sunrise

This is the Ritz-Carlton there, and it’s in maybe one of the most epic locations I’ve ever seen. I got up early one morning and got the drone out over the Pacific Ocean to get this. I had a little vision for the shot the evening before while I was watching the sunset and eating s’mores!

Half Moon Bay at Sunrise

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2016-12-11 07:34:44
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/200
• Aperture4.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Android Jones Video

Here’s another video from one of my favorite artists, Android Jones. We happened to be at the same place at the same time at Burning Man. I love his interpretation of the scene.

First, I can share my “Before” photo of Embrace, before yet another genius, Matthew Shultz and the Pier Group completed the work with its burning a few days later.

Daily Photo – Burning Embrace

Schedules are a little bit lax at Burning Man, to say the least. I think this was originally meant to burn right at sunrise, but it took a few extra hours to actually get going. No matter. It gave us all a chance to sit down and have some good conversations with whoever happened to be seated beside you.

Burning Embrace

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-08-30 03:32:53
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/2500
• Aperture4.5
• ISO160
• Focal Length70.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias